1. Higher education and professional work José-Ginés Mora Technical University of Valencia, Spain

2. Higher education and work: the key questions  To what extent should HE focus on enhancement of knowledge and individual development without explicit regard of their professional roles?  To what extent should HE deliver the competences which seem to be on demand by employment system or should HE prepare graduates to become active agents of innovation and change?  Should study prepare graduates for a wide range of occupations or should it to be highly specialized?

3. Index 1.Higher education and work: The traditional relationship 2.What has changed in the workplace? 3.The answer of the educational system 4.Some experiences of new trends

4. The traditional workplace  Professions were “well-defined”  Basic knowledge required in jobs barely changed along working life  Skills were specific to each profession (even, position)  Few connections among professions  Low proportion of highly educated workers

5. The traditional educational model  Training for “well-defined” professions  Teaching “the whole state of the art” in each discipline  Training for specific skills  Not special need of flexibility/adaptability to new situations or problems  Teachers, the main actors of the process  Students came from the “elite”

6. Three traditional models of higher education  Humboldtian model (German)  Objective: general knowledge  Napoleonic model (French)  Objective: training professionals  British model  Objective: more focused on individual development

10. The global society  Blurring of national borders  International economy  Labour market  Increasing mobility  Students and graduates  Information and knowledge

11. The knowledge society  Knowledge is considered the first factor for increasing economic productivity  Knowledge is also the first factor for social development  KS stem from a combination of:  Production of knowledge through research  Transmission of knowledge through education  Dissemination through ICT  Application through technological innovation

12. The “universal university”  Higher education for all  Increasing access to higher education  Higher education everywhere  More institutions  Distance and e-learning  Higher education as a network  Joint programmes  Mobility of students and teachers  Fast dissemination of knowledge

13. The answer of the educational system  Change of goals  Change of paradigm  Change of timing  Change of assessment

14. What competence means Change of goals: Education based on competences I

15. Change of goals: Education based on competences II  Competences are a meeting point between education and labour market  Competences summarize academic and professional profiles  Competences define new objectives in the learning process  Competences enhance the new learning paradigm centred on the student

16. Opinions on competences GraduatesEmployersAcademics Ranking 1ro. General Knowledge 14mo. Interpersonal skill 12mo. General Knowledge 4to. Interpersonal skill 6to. Interpersonal skills

17. Combined ranking: First ten competences 2 Capacity for applying knowledge in practice Instrumental Interpersonal Systemic 3 3 Capacity to adapt to new situations Concern for quality 4 4 Information management skills Ability to work autonomously Results Comparing Graduates and Employers 1 1 1 Capacity for analysis and synthesis Capacity to learn Problem solving 5 Teamwork 6 Capacity for organisation and planning

18. Results Comparing Graduates and Employers How important is... Ethical commitment Ability to work in interdisciplinary team Initiative and entrepreneurial spirit Teamwork Ability to work autonomously Elementary computing skills Research skills Capacity for organisation and planning Higher for employers Higher for graduates

19. Change of paradigm: From teaching to learning  From teacher to student  From lectures to a learning environment  From emphasizing inputs to outputs  From learning as accumulation of knowledge to learning as a permanent attitude towards knowledge

20. Change of timing: Towards Lifelong-learning  Traditionally, no special need for LLL  Knowledge society requires an open learning environment for all  Promoting flexible learning paths for all  More flexible organization of study programmes  Considering labour experience  Delivering education and training to adults  A matter of labour marker effectiveness, but also an matter of equity

21. Change of assessment: From processes to results  Quality assurance mechanisms:  Assessment for internal improvement  Assessment for accreditation  Traditional procedures  Based on inputs and processes  New trend  Assessment based on results (what competences have graduates acquired?)

22. Some recent experiences in the EU  The Bologna process  The Joint Quality Initiative  The Education and Training Initiatives  Accreditation of HE programs

23. The Bologna process  An European Agreement for a Common Space of Higher Education (2010)  Goals:  Comparability and compatibility  Employability in a common labour market  Proposed solutions:  Common structure of degrees  Interchangeable courses  “Accounting” of courses by the ECTS  ECTS is based on learning activities and competences

24. The Joint Quality Initiative Bachelor’s degrees are awarded to students who:  have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that includes some aspects of the forefront of their field of study;  can apply their knowledge within their field of study;  have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data to inform judgements;  can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions;  have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study.

25. The Joint Quality Initiative II Master’s degrees are awarded to students who:  have demonstrated knowledge and understanding that provides a basis for originality in developing ideas;  can apply their knowledge and understanding, and problem solving abilities in new or unfamiliar environments within multidisciplinary contexts;  have the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgements with incomplete or limited information;  have the learning skills to allow them to continue to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed or autonomous.

26. Education and training initiatives in the EU  Three strategic objectives for Education and Training System (ETS):  Improving quality ad effectiveness of ETS  Facilitating access of all to ETS  Opening up ETS to the wider world  Objective 1.2: Developing skills for the knowledge society  Identifying new basic skills  Integrating skills in the curricula  Making attainment of basic skill available to everyone  Promoting official validation of basic skills

27. New trends in accreditation  Accreditation of programmes as a legal requirement for delivering degrees  Recently established in The Netherlands and Spain  Not focused on how these competences are acquired by graduates  Programme accreditation by checking to what extent offered competences are acquired

28. Education and work: Conclusions (answering the key questions)  The new labour market requires people with a broad range of competences  The educational system should create a learning environment that enable students to acquire these competences  This broad range of competences allows both personal development and adaptation to the new labour market  Probably, the old contradiction (education by itself vs. education for the labour market) is over